


Chronicles of Diable Jambe

by midorimortem



Series: Chronicles of Diable Jambe [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life, Starting a Business, alcohol and drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midorimortem/pseuds/midorimortem
Summary: Diable Jambe, a popular bar downtown, has managed a lot of success through a long year of hard work, thanks to its famous cocktails and the warm attention from its crew. Come join the charismatic bartender at the counter while he crafts some extravagant drinks, or chat with some of the eager waiters while the resident musician plays a soft tune in the background each thursday night. At Diable Jambe anything can happen, you’re more than welcome to see magic happen before your eyes.Part 1 of a series of random chapters set in a Modern AU setting, as told by  Diable Jambre’s clients while they’re having some fancy drinks.
Series: Chronicles of Diable Jambe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854367
Kudos: 14





	Chronicles of Diable Jambe

New Bar in Town

Once every few years, a new bar opens up at main street and it starts gaining popularity quite rapidly. Most of them die over a few months and only a few manage to stay open for more than a year. High rents, bad reviews or protocol sanctions tend to bring doom to these poor establishments, leaving their owners bankrupt and broken on the streets of the big city.

However, if lightning strikes, one of them might be lucky enough to survive the ravishing nightlife and manage to stay open for a little while. Only a few restaurants have managed to last for more than a decade, and only the famous gourmet Baratie Bistró has seen everything come and go over half a century.

The Bistró’s proud and stoic owner would never admit out loud that the new addition to the nightlife galore was owned and managed by his idiotic but greatly talented adoptive son. Soon after he finished high school, the stupid adoptive son had decided to emancipate himself from the restaurant and parted from the city one evening, saying he was going to travel for a while to find his way.

No matter how much Zeff shouted and complained, he’d lost his most reliable _sous chef_ overnight. Sanji disappeared for two years and returned a few months ago, rented one of the vacant lots at main street with the help of some unknown investors and decorated his new and very extravagant bar to his liking.

Nowadays he and Zeff were barely on speaking terms, the former too busy running his successful business and the later too hurt and proud to talk things up. Yet, Baratie kept operating at normal pace, receiving the cream of the crop of the city from brunch until supper. The new bar, called _Diable Jambe_ for some reason Zeff didn’t care to ask, received mostly young adults and opened at evening, some hours before the large clubs from downtown opened their doors. Most of its clients either started their night there and later moved to the aforementioned clubs, or they’d start drinking early and stay at the bar until late.

A couple of months ago, once the bar had started to make a name for itself thanks to the creative cocktails and the wonderful attention the customers received for the owner and bartenders, they began hosting Jazz concerts each weekend. On Thursdays, their resident musician would play and, since he had gained some renown after a few concerts around town, he’d bring quite a lot of people. Diable Jambe soon became one of the most popular places that everyone in the city had to check once in their lifetime, if only it’d last at least for a couple of years.

Sanji and his associates had already set their minds to expand the business into greater milestones once the bar turned a year old. So far, they’d managed the business with a limited budget, but now that they were able to refund their initial investment to their supporters, Sanji was eager to get his hands on some fancier materials for his cocktails.

If things improved for the best, he wished to open a café or a restaurant, mainly under the insistence of Luffy, his partner and co-owner of the place. He knew he’d be competing against Baratie, and it just made his heart run with excitement if it meant showing Zeff just how much he’d grown ever since he left.

That evening, Sanji had decided to open the bar a couple of hours later, having previously announced their customers the change in their schedule through social media. He’d summoned his closest friends and the bar’s staff for a little degustation of possible dishes they could be serving at their restaurant, in given case they got the budget and resources to operate it by the end of the year.

“For the _Hors d’ oeuvre,_ I offer you a summer appetizer, a tomato _bruschetta_ with ricotta. For our vegetarian menu, some zucchini and pepper gratin. The first plate is cooking and will be ready when you’re done with these. For drinks, I recommend a glass of white wine, served cold, or a light beer. Cocktails and stronger liquors are better left for the rest of the evening.” Sanji said, leaving a tray of appetizers on the counter, where his five friends sat, eyeing the food with hungry eyes.

“Wow, Sanji, these look delicious!” Nami praised him, placing her apron asides as she grabbed a bruschetta with her hand and ate it in a single bite.

“So, what’s the concept for the restaurant, Weird Brows?” Zoro asked, gulping two in a row and drinking from his beer.

“European fusion cuisine, a nice blend with the bar’s concept.” Sanji answered back from the kitchen, checking that their next course was still doing great on the oven.

“Hmmm… isn’t it too fancy?”

“I’m not serving cheeseburgers and fried chicken, Luffy.” Sanji scolded him, sticking his head out of the door.

“I own 30% of this place, if I want a cheeseburger, I’m getting a cheeseburger!”

“Yeah, yeah... remember there’s a secret menu for you, boss, but I’m not serving it to the regulars.” Sanji walked into the mini bar and poured a glass of grape juice, placing it in front of Chopper. “Sorry there’s no alcohol for you, buddy. How’s the gratin?”

“Ah, don’t matter, Sanji! I don’t plan on drinking, anyway. They’re really good, so simple yet so tasty!” He said, eating another piece of zucchini.

“I prepared the dessert thinking of you, by the way. I know you’re the best critic when it comes to sweets. Ah, before I forget in given case your friend Carrot is coming with you next time, we also have the vegan option if the customer asks for it.”

“Great! I’ll invite her next time!”

“Can I bring Vivi?” Nami asked, excited to bring her best friend once more. Since Vivi and her father had given them a large sum of money to open up the bar, she always got free drinks when she came around. Having her as a patron for the restaurant as well would surely be a great idea.

“Sure! She’s always welcome here!”

“By the way, where are Brook, Robin and Franky?” Luffy asked as he finished the food on his plate and grabbed another handful from the tray. He had barely noticed they were not present at the moment.

“Brook said he had a presentation and he’d not come until Thursday for his show. I told him it was ok. But… Franky and Robin didn’t answer back when I messaged them earlier.”

“Robin’s car broke down while she was coming back from school, I forgot to tell you.” Nami said, shaking her head and sipping from her glass. “Franky is helping her at his workshop.”

“Ah, glad to hear everything’s fine.”

“Can I bring Jinbei? and Ace? And Sabo?”

“30%, Luffy. Just 30%.”

“Fine, just Jinbei next time. Ace and Sabo can pay for their meals. But… can I get them a free drink?”

“Just one, and Ace can’t flame his cocktail or I’ll kick him out. What about you, Mosshead? Don’t you want to bring a friend or something?”

“Nah. But I’ll accept the free drinks instead.”

“Just one more beer for you, sir, we’re opening in two hours.” Nami said, snapping the bottle away from him before he gulped it down in one sip.

“Hey, Usopp, you’re awfully quiet.”

“I was just checking this week’s reservations, we have a lot of messages on our inbox.” He said as he checked his phone and wrote down names and numbers on the list. He’d originally accepted the job as community manager and interior designer, but somehow he’d also ended up taking care of logistics and he was pretty deft at it.

“Any bad reviews on social media?”

“Nope, someone actually asked for Zoro’s number this time. And 24 others did for Nami, but I ignored them as usual.”

“Thanks, Usopp!” Nami said cheerfully but proud that her charms had done their job. “See? I told you losing a few buttons would get you some extra attention, Zoro!”

Zoro rolled his eyes and fetched his bottle from her, drinking the last drops and tossing it to Sanji, who gave him another beer.

“Wait a few more minutes and I’ll bring the next dish.”

“Hey, Sanji… I don’t know much about food and all this, but don’t you think this type of cuisine is going to… I don’t know… rival with Baratie’s? Isn’t it going to be bad for business? I mean, they have a lot of clients, most of them loyal customers for decades...” Usopp asked a bit absent-mindedly as he grabbed a couple of bruschettas and bit them while still writing down in his notebook.

“That’s part of the idea, making it such a strong competition we’ll eventually get more recognition than they do.”

“That’s nasty!” Luffy said, but it didn’t look like it bothered him. Quite the contrary.

“So, when are you planning to do our grand reopening?” Chopper asked.

“I’d love it to be before the year is out, you know? Four months from now. But I think it’s a bit too ambitious for us to open up for general public so quickly.”

“What if we hold a Christmas dinner with previous reservations? We can start promoting it next month to create some expectations through our media, the funds we get from our regulars can be used to open up in mid January or February.”

“Usopp, that’s brilliant!”

“Working late hours on promos for our Happy Hour does wonders at times.” He said and shrugged, closing up his notebook and standing up from his seat. “Now, if you don’t mind me, I’ll go crash at the office’s couch until we open the bar, I need some sleep.”

Usopp dragged his feet away from them and they could hear him flop into the couch on Sanji and Luffy’s small office a few seconds later. Seeminly, he didn't care about the other two plates waiting for him in the kitchen.

“Do you know what’s keeping him up?” Chopper asked, concerned.

“Seems he fought with that cute friend of his again because… you know, he lied about something, probably. So he’s working his ass off to try not to call her, I think.” Nami said, shaking her head as she kept staring at the door from which he had disappeared.

“He’ll be fine, he needs to chill, not to stress over work. Sanji! I’ll be taking Usopp for a walk tomorrow, so he won’t be coming to work until Monday!” Luffy said, not asking for anyone’s opinion.

“That’s ok by me, he surely left everything prepared for the next three weeks, and I can work logistics just fine if Chopper comes in a little earlier. I’ll pay you some extra cash, kid.”

“Sure, I’ll come here after I’m done with school to help.”

“That’s my boy. Now, wait a minute, I’ll go serve the next course. I’ll keep some for him when he wakes up.” Sanji said and walked back into the kitchen, reading three plates and a vegetarian meal with utmost care.

_Christmas, eh? That’s less than four months for now… ah, that old man is going to get a nasty surprise one of these days. I just hope everything works out..._

**Author's Note:**

> I had no original intention to do this introductory part a multi-chapter thing, but I may write that later.
> 
> Hit me up if you're interested in having any guest character featured in this series, I have a few ideas I wanna do with the same 4 characters I always write about, but if you want someone in particular to be included, I may come up with something.


End file.
